Barnes J, Webb M, Holland J
Department of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery, Royal Victoria Infirmary, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
BMJ Case Rep. 2013 May 22;2013:bcr2013009671. doi: 10.1136/bcr-2013-009671.
The Segway, the two-wheeled, motorised self-transport device is becoming increasingly popular across the globe with the trend of Segway tours now starting to hit cities across the UK. However, Segways have been shown to be potentially extremely dangerous. Stumbling from a moving Segway places pressure on the knee joint while it is being medially or laterally stressed. This is the mechanism associated with tibial plateau fractures; complex fractures often associated with other soft tissue injuries, which are easily missed, are challenging to manage and can be very disabling. This is the case of a young, otherwise healthy woman, who tripped from a moving Segway and sustained a lateral depressed tibial plateau fracture. She was managed with a knee brace, physiotherapy and serial check radiographs. The fracture healed well and she has returned to an almost normal level of function with intensive physiotherapy.